


The Peanut Gallery

by littlealex



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Office, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24065299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlealex/pseuds/littlealex
Summary: Jun and Sho conspire to make sure Aiba and Nino start dating. Ohno is there, and Yoko makes some important cameos.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Ninomiya Kazunari
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	The Peanut Gallery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cutselvage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutselvage/gifts).



> For the 2016 [](http://ninoexchange.livejournal.com/profile)[**ninoexchange**](http://ninoexchange.livejournal.com/), gifted to [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cutselvage)**cutselvage**. Original post [here](https://ninoexchange.livejournal.com/66986.html). Thanks you to [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/waxrose)**waxrose** and [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/phrenk)**phrenk** (as always) for moral support and last-minute beta skillz. Endless thanks to nino_mod for putting up with me this time around.

Ninomiya Kazunari is nothing if not a creature of a habit. He wakes up every day at 8AM, showers, dresses, and thinks about eating breakfast before he runs to the train because he only has 20 minutes to get to work, which is 30 minutes away. He always manages to sneak into work at 8:30AM on the dot, much to the amazement of Sakurai Sho, his co-worker who always arrives on the 8:20AM bus, just in case there are traffic delays. Then he logs into his email, clicks around the news stories of the day until about 10AM, when he decides it's about time to go and get himself a coffee.

He always invites Sho, who declines in the mornings (he only accepts the 3PM invites), but asks Nino to bring him back a decaf soy latte anyway. Nino then rolls his eyes and leaves the office. The cafe is just around the corner, next to a bakery which Nino goes to on Fridays, when he decides he's earned a red bean bun for his efforts. He still sticks his head in the doorway every day and calls out 'good morning' to Ohno Satoshi, the sleepy owner and part-time artist who spends his days alternating between baking and eating his wares. He gets a wave back, if Ohno is awake enough.

Caffe La Familia has been there since before Nino ever started darkening its doors, owned by the striking Matsumoto Jun and staffed by Aiba Masaki, who can only be described as his trusty sidekick. Nino walks in and salutes Jun, who is almost always out bussing tables, talking to regulars, tidying the bookshelves or stacks of newspapers, or stocking the refrigerator with salads, sandwiches and bottled water and juice. He sidles up to the counter, which has no line at 10AM, and if Aiba isn't already there to greet him, he calls to Nino that he's just finishing up the last customer's coffee and will be right with him.

Every day, Nino notes Aiba's unfailing bright smile and good mood, which he has not yet known to falter. He thinks to himself what a remarkable human being Aiba must be to wake up with such energy and enthusiasm, but before the thought progresses any further, Aiba catches him in conversation. He's usually chatting about something he did over the weekend or whatever he's watching on television, and Nino usually makes some lightly teasing and sarcastic remarks, feeling his spirits lift as Aiba's breathy laugh fills the air. 

Aiba hands him the two coffees in a cardboard carrier and Nino bids him and Jun goodbye.

Today is different, though.

He walks through Caffe La Familia's doors, the chimes jangling as it closes behind him, and finds Jun behind the counter, manning the espresso machine. He starts a little, then salutes anyway. He looks around and sees Aiba sitting on the couch next to someone Nino doesn't recognize. Nino watches as they talk animatedly, and then Aiba laughs so hard he looks as though he's going to pass out, fall off the chair, or both. It strikes Nino that he's never seen Aiba laugh like that before, and it startles him enough to turn back to Jun.

"Aiba's friend Yoko," Jun says, before Nino asks, already starting work on his order. "He moved here from Osaka about a year ago, and just started working for Morinaga delivering milk." Jun moves deftly around the machine, as though he's the one who prepares Nino's order every morning, and Nino watches him silently for a moment.

"You should have seen Aiba when he walked through the front door," Jun continues in a lower tone, a smirk in the corner of his mouth. "He screamed, dropped a tray of pastries all over the floor, and ran over to give him a hug before the poor guy even knew what was going on. They've been sitting there talking ever since."

Nino looks back at the pair, happily chatting away as though there was nothing else going on in the world. Yoko's grin creases the corners of his eyes as he tells a story, and Aiba has his hand on Yoko's knee, laughing intermittently. Nino wonders aloud, "How do they know each other?"

"Aiba lived in Osaka for about a year before he started working here," Jun says, distracted by his search for the soy milk. "He worked as a waiter; he and Yoko worked together. I called the owner for a reference before I hired him." He retrieves the milk and Nino catches the disdainful look as he considers the decaf beans. "The way they are together, though," he says, unexpectedly catching Nino's eye, "I feel like they dated."

Nino feels the words shoot through his chest, and he focuses on schooling his features. "I see," he says, but the words sound anything but unaffected, and he winces.

"Are you jealous?" Jun asks, smirk broadening across his mouth now, and Nino regrets to credit Jun with the same perceptiveness as himself.

Nino bristles, but he covers it with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Please," he says. "Aiba's way too high-energy for me. Quite besides which," he adds hastily, "didn't we say you would stop prying into my love life?"

It had been nearly a year since Aiba had gotten it into his head that Sho was Nino's boyfriend, but the memory of bringing Sho a coffee with an iced heart-shaped cookie with 'I Love You' written in glitter on top (tucked underneath the coffee cup in the cardboard) was vivid in his mind. Nino had almost not gone back to Caffe La Familia after that, but he found himself the next day almost unable to tell Aiba that anything was wrong. Fighting against Aiba's bright smile was nobody's strong suit, but Nino had managed to explain that Sho was just his co-worker and asked Aiba politely not to get involved in his personal life. The way Aiba's smile had dropped had made Nino's stomach drop too, but it had worked.

" _You_ said it," Jun says, breaking through the memory. "I don't remember agreeing." He smirks again and hands Nino the cardboard carrier over the counter. There's a funny, knowing edge to the whole facial expression that Nino really doesn't enjoy, so he takes the coffee and scowls as meanly as he can. He turns, his eyes lingering on Aiba and Yoko for a moment before he leaves.

Back at the office, Nino plonks himself down in his chair heavily before rolling himself over to Sho's desk with the coffee. "What's the matter?" Sho asks, taking a sip of the coffee. He furrows his brow as though he wants to ask something else, but instead turns his eyes to Nino.

Nino isn't quite sure how to explain it. "Jun made the coffee this morning," is all he can come up with.

"So that's why it tastes different!" Sho exclaims, getting the answer to his question anyway. "Where was Aiba? Hayfever? It's not quite the season for it."

Nino shakes his head. "He was talking with the milk delivery man." Sho gives him an odd look, and Nino revises, "They know each other. Hadn't seen each other in years, apparently. Jun's sure they dated when Aiba lived in Osaka."

"Aiba lived in Osaka?" Sho asks and, in a way, Nino's glad he misses the point. "That makes so much sense," he says, and takes another sip of his coffee.

Nino nods and rolls his chair back towards his desk.

The rest of the day goes much as it usually does. He answers some emails, makes some prank phone calls to the sales team, heats up an obnoxiously stinky curry in the microwave that permeates the entire office floor, plays a few games of Minesweeper, and then it's 3PM. Nino doesn't need an alarm clock to sound; he just feels 3PM in his bones. When he does, he lifts his eyes to look at a harried Sho and simply asks, "Coffee?" Sho always greets the request with a distracted grunt, but seven minutes later, they're walking through the doors of Caffe La Familia.

This time, things are as they should be. Aiba is behind the counter and Jun, now that it's an hour before closing time, is counting the money in the till and heaping the coins into plastic pouches. "Good afternoon!" Aiba chirps as the door closes behind them, moving to make their coffee without them needing to say anything. "Double shot this afternoon, Sakurai-kun?" He doesn't really need to ask, but Sho nods silently, and then goes to lean on the counter next to Jun. Nino heads around the side of the counter to watch Aiba work, and is greeted a grin wider than he thought possible.

"I didn't see you this morning," Aiba says, sounding more apologetic than accusatory.

"You were deep in conversation," Nino says by way of forgiveness, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I just haven't seen Yoko in so long," Aiba enthuses, "we had so much to catch up on! So much has happened... well, since I left Osaka." The pause seems suspicious to Nino, but he keeps it to himself. "Poor Yoko was an hour late to the rest of his deliveries! He managed not to get fired, but he's always been a smooth talker, so I'm not surprised."

Nino nods, letting Aiba talk. There's an edge to his chatter today, as though he's making up for lost time this morning, and Nino thinks he might hear nerves around the edges, but he can only imagine it's because he's been caught with Yoko. There must be something going on between them, or else Aiba wouldn't be so embarrassed talking about it. Something withers inside Nino and, somehow, Aiba's bright smile doesn't quite light him up as much as it usually does.

This is not the day Nino expected when he woke up.

———————

Sakurai Sho is also a creature of habit. He wakes up exactly at 6AM, goes for a half-hour run, showers and dresses, eats a breakfast of fish and rice with a bowl of miso soup, and gets on the early bus, just in case there are delays. He buys a red bean bun at the bakery, not so much because he's hungry, but because Ohno has the warmest smiles in the morning, and arrives promptly at the office at 8:20AM. This gives him enough time to make a cup of tea, fill his water bottle, and check his emails before Nino crashes through the door at 8:30AM on the dot.

The rest of the day is work, until 3PM hits, when Nino drags him out to the cafe. It started because Sho was having minor breakdowns around 4PM, and in the beginning Nino had to literally pull him away from his computer screen, but now it's a force of habit that Sho considers healthy. Were it not for the double shot of espresso so late in the afternoon, that is.

Today is different, though.

Unlike the unsuspecting Nino, Sho has been waiting for this day for a long time. He and Jun both. He is certain that this is the day Nino finally realizes he has a desperate and unfulfilled crush on Aiba. Sho and Jun have noticed it, joked about it for ages. Jun's tried to find out if the feelings are mutual, but subtlety is lost on Aiba, and he hasn't wanted to push the matter until Nino was ready. Today, though, Sho is sure that Nino will be ready.

They arrive at 3:07PM as per usual and, after confirming his order with a nod, Sho makes a beeline for Jun, leaning on the register conspiratorially. "So!" he whispers excitedly, unable to contain a grin.

Jun smirks slyly. "I didn't overdo it, then?" he asks, furtively meeting Sho's eyes and continuing to count coins into bags.

"Just enough," Sho confirms, lifting his hand in an 'ok' sign. Yoko hadn't been a part of their plan, but Sho had trusted Jun to make the necessary moves as soon as he saw an opportunity. Sho knows that as lazy as Nino pretends to be, he's competitive, and he's sizing up Yoko as competition before making his decision as to whether or not to throw down the proverbial gauntlet.

"I was beginning to think we were going to have to do something serious," Jun mumbles, as though Nino and Aiba can actually hear over the noise of the machine. "We are so lucky Yoko showed up."

"Do you really think they dated in Osaka, though?" Sho asks, acutely aware that Nino is also great at throwing up roadblocks. "Nino said they looked very familiar."

Jun shrugs and zips closed a bag of 10-yen coins. "Maybe," he says, "but it won't matter. Now that we've got Nino thinking, we can bring in Ohno."

"Not immediately," Sho says quickly.

Jun shakes his head in agreement, smile breaking fully onto his face. "We are so lucky it's Wednesday. It's like the red strings of fate actually got their shit together this time."

———————

The next day, things are back to normal at Caffe La Familia. Both times Nino visits that day, Jun is chatting away to customers and bussing tables, and Aiba is behind the espresso machine. The conversation between him and Aiba is fairly standard - this time, Aiba tells him about the lost kitten he rescued on the walk home from work the night before, and Nino volunteers that he once tried to help his family cat run away - but it definitely feels different. It's slightly awkward, and reminds Nino of the time he walked in on his sister making out with her boyfriend in the living room and they jumped apart. He feels like he should be embarrassed, but also that he has no reason to feel that way, and Aiba just seems to be overcompensating.

Nino tries not to think about it. He's less than impressed at the reaction he'd had to seeing Aiba and Yoko speaking together yesterday, because there is no earthly reason for him to feel that way. Aiba isn't anything more than a bright punctuation mark in his daily routine - a semicolon in the morning and one of those upside-down surprise marks in the afternoon, if he has to choose - and there is no reason for him to feel so disappointed that Aiba has friends, or even more-than-friends, outside of the cafe.

Of course, Nino knows exactly why he feels that way, and that's what bothers him even more. It's the dull pang of jealousy, just like Jun guessed. He tells himself it's foolish to do anything about it simply because he thinks Aiba might no longer be available, and that it won't be fair to anyone, least of all Aiba. So he lets it go. He can't stop it, but he can let it wash over him, and simply hope that he never sees Yoko at the cafe again.

———————

Finally, it's Friday, and most people in the working world celebrate. Nino, on the other hand, panics. His week's worth of procrastinating pushes him into action, getting done in the space of a day what it takes everyone else the entire week to do, and he absolutely hates it. Which is why he makes an extra outing at noon, for lunch. It's the only day he allows himself to buy lunch: two meat buns for lunch and his red bean paste bun for dessert.

"That'll be 200 yen," Ohno says, and Nino gives him a strange look. Ohno usually gives discounts, but 200 yen is just silly, so Nino ignores him and presses three coins into Ohno's outstretched palm.

"People are going to take advantage of you, Oh-chan," Nino remarks, getting started on the pork bun as he stands at the counter.

"It's okay if it's Nino," Ohno says with a vague smile, replacing the top on the steamer full of manju. "Hey, Nino," he adds, somehow speaking at once as though they hadn't been speaking, and as an addendum to what they'd just been saying, "I have some tickets to the circus tomorrow night, but I can't go. Why don't you take them?"

This confuses Nino even more than the wild discounting of the pork buns. He chews slowly and thins his eyes as he watches Ohno move blithely around the bakery, trying to work out what on earth is going on inside Ohno's mind. Then he remembers that the last time he did that, he ended up straining himself. He doesn't need that on a Friday. He shakes his head and swallows. "Thank you for the offer, Ohno, but who would I even go with?"

Ohno smiles and produces a pair of tickets from the pocket on his apron. "I don't know," he says, wiggling the tickets over the counter. "Perhaps a certain... barista?"

Nino stops chewing and rolls his eyes so hard he feels it in the back of his eye sockets. "Not you, too," he whines, but he doesn't take his eyes off the tickets.

It wouldn't be such a horrible thing, to go out with Aiba just once, Nino considers. It would at least shut everyone up about it. And while he meant it when he told Jun that Aiba is too high-energy for him, Nino can't deny that he's thought about being with him before. He's pretty sure everyone who's ever met Aiba has fallen just a little for his shining enthusiasm for life, but he's never been sure that the two of them would really work. It might be fun, but Aiba burns so brightly sometimes, Nino wonders if he would just get burned.

Ohno wiggles the tickets again. "Stop thinking, just take them." Nino frowns and wishes that Ohno wasn't able to completely read his mind. "Don't lie, you love it," Ohno adds. Nino huffs and, as though it's just to spite Ohno, snatches the tickets from between his fingers.

"Fine," he grumbles, eyes flicking over the details on the tickets before glaring back at Ohno, who was just smiling beatifically at him. "But if we both get caught in an elephant stampede, it's all your fault."

"Do I get to take credit if you fall in love and have lots of babies?"

Nino wrinkles his nose and just walks away, taking another bite of his manju so he doesn't have to answer, waving back at Ohno as he exits the shop.

The cafe is about a block away, and Nino stops to watch through the wide open takeaway window. There are a few people huddled on the sidewalk already and Nino peers in to see Aiba in fine form, calling back orders that Jun gives him while still concentrating on pouring the perfect coffee for everyone on his mental list. He lines some coffees on the window platform, calling out names and smiling at each of the people who pick up their cups.

As the crowd thins, his eyes catch Nino's and he beams, giving an energetic wave. "How's the nikuman this afternoon, Nino?" he calls through the window, concentrating as he fills the orders from inside the cafe as well.

Nino usually just walks past the window - waving if Aiba happens to be looking - because he's always assumed Aiba would be too busy for a conversation. He sidles up to the window, now, peering into the cafe from this strange, new vantage point. "Delicious, as usual."

Aiba moves quickly through the motions, calling out a couple more names and thins out the stack of orders stuck to the espresso machine, throwing them absently in the trash behind him. "Aren't Oh-chan's nikuman the best? I like them better than my mother's, but don't tell her that." He spares a moment to catch Nino's eyes and throw him a conspiratorial wink.

"I won't," Nino replies, a little distractedly, and realizes that he's still clutching the circus tickets in his free hand. "I know you're busy right now, Aiba," he says before he can think about what he's doing, "but Ohno had a couple of tickets to the circus that he couldn't use. He gave them to me. They're for tomorrow night -" Nino realizes he's rambling and cuts himself off. "Do you want to go with me?"

Aiba might have been moving constantly, as though making twelve coffees in a row was naturally one continuous motion, but he certainly heard Nino, and didn't skip a beat. "The circus!" he exclaims, a giggle bubbling out. "That sounds amazing. I'm free tomorrow night, too! Give me your number when you come by later today, okay?"

Nino's heart jumps into his throat for just a beat, but he steadies it with a dose of reality. _He's acting so casual about it, maybe he thinks this is just a friendly outing,_ he thinks, very deliberately, swallowing back the fluttery feeling of excitement stirring within him. "Great," he says, matching Aiba's grin. "I'll see you then."

———————

Aiba Masaki has some habits, but he wouldn't know routine if he fell over it. No two days are the same for him. He prefers to notice the differences between things, rather than take their similarities for granted. Sometimes, this means he's surprised by things others can predict, but it also means that his surprise doesn't knock him off kilter. He likes to think of himself as devoid of expectation - as much as anyone can be - and his brother teases him that he should just become a Buddhist and live in the forest. Sometimes he thinks that might be nice.

So while it surprises him that Nino invites him to the circus at lunchtime on Friday, it doesn't faze him. He knows it's a date, because he can see that the way Nino looks at him while he makes the invitation is different, even from the corner of his eye. Besides, he identified the warm feeling that radiates through his body every time he sees Nino for what it is a long time ago - a crush. It's the heady mixture of affection and desire that burns when he lingers on the feeling too long, so he's let it simmer on the back burner for a while. Something has always told him to let Nino make the first move, and he's glad it happened, but he wonders why.

Later that day, after Nino and Sho head out after their 3PM coffee, the answer becomes clear.

Jun sidles up to Aiba moments after they're gone, in a deliberately casual way that Aiba would recognize from a mile away. "So," Jun says, and it's the most thinly-veiled attempt at offhandedness that Aiba has seen from him in a while. "You swapped numbers with Nino."

Aiba grins. He knows he's meant to tell Jun everything, but he also knows how fun it is to play dumb when Jun's trying to be subtle. "We're going to the circus tomorrow night," he confirms.

"That's exciting," Jun lilts, trying to coax more information with a sing-song voice.

Aiba nods. "It is! I don't think I've been to the circus in nearly ten years," he says, smiling at the flicker of annoyance on Jun's features. "My favorite is the acrobats. They're amazing."

Jun makes an appreciative noise, but doesn't ask any follow-up questions. If the circumstances were different, Aiba might have been inclined to say more, but Aiba knows exactly how Nino happened to get a pair of tickets to the circus. He's not an idiot, and he knows Jun too well to ignore the recent ramp-up of prying into his personal life. On Wednesday, Jun had practically insisted that he be free on Saturday night and then almost immediately afterwards stepped out for a "meeting with Ohno-san".

Aiba might be known to miss things others can see, but this would be like missing a big red sign with the words "SETUP" painted in yellow, and Aiba's not blind.

———————

If Nino thought that he had been nervous on Friday at 3PM (and he had, he saw his fingers shaking as he punched Aiba's number into his phone), he doesn't recognize himself as he stares in the mirror on Saturday evening. Aiba offered to pick him up at 6:30PM, so it's only natural that he's tried on every piece of clothing he owns by the time 6:20 rolls around. He doesn't care about what he wears most of the time - which, he thinks absently as he fusses with a loose button on his favorite blazer, is probably the reason he can't find anything decent to wear - but it's an easy outlet for his nervous energy. And it's one that won't leave Aiba waiting outside while he tries the final boss level on his game _just one more time_.

Nino's phone rings, muffled slightly from being partly hidden by bedsheets, and Nino scrambles to find it. He deflates a little as he reads the name on the front. "What do you want?"

Sho's indulgent laughter floats through the receiver. "A little on edge, are you?"

Nino frowns, but it doesn't look very pleasant in the mirror, so he softens it to a pout. "I don't like any of my clothes."

"I offered to come over and help," Sho reminds him.

Nino scoffs. "I don't claim to be any sort of expert, but I'm pretty sure there's a rule against wearing two hoodies at once."

"That was one time!"

"They were both grey, Sho, even _you_ should have known better than that."

At that moment, the doorbell chimes, and panic grips Nino's heart. He isn't ready for a doorbell. Is Aiba early? Nino sort of expected him to be late; he seems too airheaded to even know the word 'punctual'. Nino takes the phone away from his ear, dimly aware that Sho is rambling about his choice of hooded sweatshirts, and checks the time - 6:30PM exactly. He puts the phone back to his ear and mumbles "gotta go, bye," before hanging up on Sho and escaping his bedroom.

There's a knock at the door before he makes it there, and he skids on his hardwood floor as he tries to slow down, and ends up tripping into the genkan and slamming into the door before throwing it open with a great backwards movement. Aiba stands on the other side of the door, smile as bright as ever, and gives a quick wave. Nino lifts his hand in a wave as well, before it comes crashing back to him that he should, perhaps, say something.

"Oh, uh," he stammers, unsure whether he should invite Aiba in or not, looking around the genkan as though it might give him the right thing to say.

It doesn't, and Aiba stifles a laugh. "Are you ready to go, Nino, or do you need a moment?" The casual tone that had confused Nino before serves as a calming agent in the moment, and Nino looks up at Aiba steadily, collecting himself with a breath.

"I think I'm ready," he says, checking his pockets for phone, wallet and keys. Then he nods decisively, stepping into his shoes. "Let's go."

———————

"So," Aiba begins as he leaves his parking space at Nino's apartment and pulls into traffic, "the circus should be fun. Have you been before?"

Nino conjures memories from when he was even shorter and skinnier than he currently is, sitting in the front row as lions roared in his face, terrifying him so much he screamed and the people around him either laughed or said 'how adorable!' He shrugs. "Not since I was little," he replies simply.

"It doesn't seem like a Nino sort of thing," Aiba agrees. "What do you usually get up to on the weekends?"

Nino thinks of his last weekend, and tries to remember specific days, but they blurred into one. He'd bought a new video game and decided to play it through to the end. It had taken longer than expected and he's not sure he actually changed out of his pyjamas all weekend. He frowns, because he can't exactly tell that story, not if Aiba does think this is a date. Best foot forward, right? "I try to relax on the weekend," he says blandly, and realizes that answer is worse than telling the truth. "But mostly, I like indoor things. Video games, television, things like that."

"What about arcades?"

The last time Nino visited an arcade was in university, though much of his misspent youth was wasted at them during high school. His mother always thought that playing video games in his room meant he was turning into a shut-in, so Nino headed to the arcade after school instead. His mother didn't mind if he showed up late for dinner, as long as he wasn't in the house. He assumed she thought he was there with friends - which he was, sometimes - and that somehow made his hobby more worthwhile, but he'd never understood the logic. "I don't go much any more," he admits, "but I used to rule DDR at my local. If you can believe it."

Aiba laughs, happily, and catches Nino's eye just for a moment. "Really?" he asks, but there's no hint of incredulity. "I was always so jealous of those guys. So cool."

Nino slides him a dubious look. "Does the word 'cool' mean something different in Chiba?" he asks, and Aiba laughs again. The sound lifts Nino's spirits a little higher every time he hears it, and he wonders if it's possible to become addicted to someone's laughter. "I'm not sure how I'd do these days."

"I bet if you play the old songs, you'd be fine. Muscle memory and all that," Aiba says. "We should go to an arcade next time! There's this place on the edge of Ikebukuro... it's a little dingy, but I bet it's got some older models we could play on."

Nino's breath catches when Aiba uses the words 'next time'. The assumption of a second date not even ten minutes into their first one seems a bit presumptuous, and it makes Nino's heart and mind race. He settles by telling himself that Aiba still doesn't necessarily think of this as a date, that he probably assumes it's just two friends going to the circus, and nothing has made it particularly date-like, so Aiba didn't mean anything by it.

He gathers himself enough to remember that Aiba's talking about going to an arcade, and he nods with just the smallest delay. "Sounds good," he says, and settles back for the drive.

———————

Aiba senses the moment that Nino relaxes during the night, and it comes earlier than expected. He knew Nino would take some time to warm up, but he's pleasantly surprised when it only takes about 15 minutes of idle talk in the car before the atmosphere shifts. Their chatter doesn't get more serious, but it becomes easier, because Nino's listening, and the conversation flows easily. The drive takes nearly an hour, but it feels like it flies by as they trade stories and discuss hypothetical zombie apocalypse scenarios.

When the atmosphere changes, Aiba remembers exactly what it was that changed his feelings for Nino. Shining from the edges of Nino's quick wit and sarcastic remarks is a bright intelligence, sharpened with a level of perception and understanding of other people that Aiba has always admired. Everything that Nino says makes Aiba think. Even if he laughs and shrugs it off in the moment because he doesn't know what to say, he'll think about it for days, bringing it up days later to hear more about what Nino thinks.

Tonight, he gets to hear Nino talk about anything and everything, and he thinks that they could just spend the night driving around, talking, and Aiba would be happy. There are things he's always wanted to talk about with Nino, hear his opinions on, and there's so much he wants to know about Nino, to find the context for all those opinions, but he knows tonight isn't only for him. They're trading the moments of discovery back and forth, and Aiba centers himself squarely in each minute to make sure he's there for each of them.

In the end, the circus does provide a welcome distraction, and Aiba can feel his mind working in the background as he watches the spectacle in front of him. He doesn't try think about what it's working on, but by the time the show is over and the house lights flood the room with incandescence, he knows something has shifted for him.

He turns to Nino and grins. "That was amazing," he says, and he's not entirely talking about the show.

Nino smiles lopsidedly. "Certainly the best circus I've been to in the last two decades."

"Do you want to get ice cream before we go?" Aiba suggests. He's not quite ready for the night to be over, and it's the first thing he thinks to suggest.

"I was thinking of a nightcap," Nino says, his lips turning upwards in a proper smile. "But I know where we can get both. Do you trust me to drive?"

Aiba shrugs, and 40 minutes later they're back in Tokyo proper, sitting at a tiny bar upstairs in Ueno that's decorated in American diner-style. The floors are black and white tiles, stools wrapped in bright red vinyl, the bar a sea foam green, and there's an American flag that seems to take up the entire back wall. The bar itself is an L-shape, and one edge of the bar is a half-size ice cream display freezer with six flavours, while the other has a well-stocked liquor cabinet behind it.

Aiba orders a lemon sorbet and a gin fizz because he figures they go together. Nino orders whiskey on the rocks, ordering it by name and Aiba ponders this as the bartender brings him the small cup of sorbet.

"Is that your favorite whisky?" Aiba asks.

Nino nods. "It's from Scotland and has a very distinctive taste," he says as the bartender places his drink in front of him. "Do you want to try it?"

Aiba considers the glass as Nino swirls the ice in it gently. He doesn't usually drink alcohol straight, but he also doesn't want to turn down an invitation to share Nino's favorite drink, so he nods. "Sure," he says, and Nino hands him the glass before he's taken a sip himself. He smells the drink before he tastes it, the smell of dirt hitting him before he takes a quick sip. As any straight liquor, it burns a little as it goes down, and the taste that lingers on his tongue is like the smoke from a wood fire.

Aiba smiles as he hands back the glass. "It's certainly distinctive," he agrees, unsure that he would be able to finish a full glass, let alone call it his favorite.

Nino matches his smile. "It tastes like you've fallen face-first into an outdoor fire pit, I know," he admits, taking a sip of his own. Aiba can see the way his spine relaxes into a curve as he swallows. "I can't really have more than two of these, so I have it on ice to make it last longer," Nino says, leaning one arm on the bar, facing Aiba.

The bartender finishes the gin fizz with a flourish and places it in front of Aiba. Nino gestures towards it. "Do you usually have a fizz?"

Aiba shakes his head and picks up the very cold spoon for the sorbet. "I have cocktails when I'm at a bar because I can't make them for the life of me, and I try to have the thing that looks the most interesting, or the most delicious. This seemed to fit with the sorbet," he says with a slight shrug. Nino smiles, and Aiba recognizes the flash behind his eyes - he's said something to be saved in the back of his mind.

"I have Laphroig when I'm out because it's too expensive to keep at home," he offers. "I usually just have beer at home."

"Me too," Aiba agrees, taking a sip of his cocktail. It matches the sorbet perfectly - tart with a hint of sugar, light and bubbly, with the bergamot of the gin hiding around every corner - and the frothy egg white sticks to his upper lip as he lowers the glass. He licks it absently and considers the glass appreciatively for a moment before offering it to Nino. "Want to try?"

Nino looks just as dubious as Aiba had felt about his offering, but to his credit, he shrugs and takes it. There's a moment's hesitation before he takes a sip, but he looks pleased that he does, handing the glass back to Aiba. "That's good," he says, nodding. "You matched it to the sorbet well."

Aiba isn't sure how long they spend at the bar, but he has another cocktail and cajoles Nino into getting one instead of another straight whisky (though it is a whisky sour), and by the time they leave, he's feeling happy and warm as he flags down a taxi. He's not drunk, but he doesn't want to think about driving right now - he's having too much fun.

"What about your car?" Nino asks, gesturing down the road.

"No," Aiba says simply, and gestures into the taxi. Nino looks down the street to the car absently, and then piles into the back seat. Aiba follows and gives the taxi driver Nino's address first, then his own. He settles back in his seat as the taxi pulls away from the curb and turns to Nino, who seems to have started thinking again because he looks as though he doesn't know what to do all of a sudden. He smiles. "I had fun tonight," he says simply.

Nino nods. "Me too," he says. "I suppose I should thank Ohno for the tickets."

"Ohno?" Aiba says with a laugh. "It's all Jun's plan. I think he and Sho have been conspiring."

Nino looks genuinely confused for a moment, before his features settle into understanding. "That wouldn't surprise me," he admits.

They spend the rest of the car ride in comfortable silence, occasionally punctuated by pointing out shops and restaurants to one another. It's not long before they reach Nino's apartment block and Aiba tells the taxi driver to wait a moment as he hops out of the car first, walking to the front gate with Nino. It's the most awkward he's seen Nino all night, at least since he opened the front door. He smiles a little. It's not as though Aiba hasn't been nervous at all, but he's focused on what they're doing rather than how he feels, and it's worked for him so far.

"Well," Nino says, halting, "thank you. For the drive, I mean. I had a great time. I hope -" Aiba interrupts him, though, closing the space between them quickly and pressing his hand to the small of Nino's back, tucking him close as he leans down to catch Nino's lips in a kiss. It's only a brief kiss, but Nino recovers from the shock quickly and lifts himself onto the balls of his feet to meet Aiba halfway.

Aiba pulls back and grins as Nino reels a little, unsteady on his feet. "I'll see you on Monday," he says simply, holding up a hand in a quick wave. "Good night, Nino."

———————

Matsumoto Jun's favorite day is Monday. He knows that most people think he's crazy for it, but he's put his life into the cafe he runs for a reason: he loves it. He has instituted his own days off on the weekend, when he gets the B Team in to run the shop, and it's not that Kame and Yamapi don't do a good job, but Jun misses it. It's not just his horrible control issues, which got in check after he realized he hadn't taken a day off in six months and his sister told him she would send him to an institution if he didn't take a holiday. He just enjoys the energy at the cafe, and the thought of it wakes him up with a spring in his step on Monday mornings.

This particular Monday, though, he's more excited to hear about the weekend than to start the week, and he practically pounces on Aiba when he arrives at the cafe. "So," he says, taking Aiba's arm and dragging him to a sofa and tugging him into the seat before Aiba has even had a moment to put away his things and put on his apron. "How was Saturday?"

Aiba smiles enigmatically, and for a moment Jun hopes that he doesn't make him ask again. "It was great," he says with a shrug, but his smile brightens as he speaks. Jun can see the memories ticking over behind his eyes, and he thinks that if he stares hard enough, he might be able to see what Aiba does.

Aiba tilts his head, brought back to the current moment. "What do you want me to say? We went to the circus, which was circus-y, and then after that we went to a bar that had ice cream and cocktails and talked for a couple of hours. We had some cocktails and I had to leave my car, so we shared a taxi to get home." He stops, then, and Jun feels like he might burst. The goodbye is always the most important part of any date, and he just wants to know already. Aiba almost laughs as he looks at him. "Okay, fine, Jun. I kissed him, okay? I kissed him, he kissed me back, I said good night and that was it."

Relief floods Jun with Aiba's recounting and he slumps back into the sofa. He knows it isn't really any of his business, but he's seen the way that Aiba and Nino interact for the last three years. He knows when the penny dropped for each of them, and he didn't really think it was a bad idea to give them a little extra nudge, but he's relieved to know that it went well.

Aiba puts a hand on Jun's shoulder and shakes it a little. "Okay? Will you let it go now?" he asks hopefully, standing and shrugging his bag back onto his shoulder, heading towards the back room.

Jun stands and follows him. "Do you have another date yet?"

"Matsumoto-san!" Aiba admonishes, closing the door behind him. Jun doesn't open the door, just waits for an answer. Aiba emerges a moment later with his apron tied around him. "Not yet," he answers. "But I promise, you'll be the first to know."

Jun smiles at that, and makes a silent promise to himself to not mention it for at least three days.

———————

Sho is in the office kitchen on Monday morning when Nino arrives uncharacteristically early. He almost pours boiling water over his hand rather than in his teacup as Nino wanders through the kitchen and gives him a chipper salute. "Good morning, Sho-chan," he says as he wanders out into the melee of their open-plan offices. Sho fills his teacup as quickly as he can, forgets his water bottle next to the sink, and rushes to pull up a chair beside Nino.

"Nino, you didn't call me all weekend." He had hoped to say something else, but the shock of Nino arriving early for work confuses him out of any sort of plan he had for this conversation.

"Yes I did," Nino says and he turns on his computer. "I believe I insulted your fashion sense. I suppose that's not too memorable for you, though."

Sho rolls his eyes and puts his teacup on Nino's desk. "I mean, you didn't tell me what happened _after_ your sartorial distress."

"Oh," Nino shrugs. "I shouldn't have been worried. Aiba was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I mean, it was just the circus."

Sho tries his version of a withering look, but he knows it's not as cutting as Nino's own. "Come on, Nino, just tell me how it went."

Nino allows Sho an honest smile. "It went well, Sho-chan. No need to get our coffee somewhere else." Which was, Sho admits, a fear that he had going into planning with Jun.

"I'm glad," Sho says, returning the smile. "No wonder you're here early; I'll bet you can't wait for 10 to roll around."

Nino swats his arm and turns to his computer. "Shut up."

———————

It is not Yokoyama Yuu's morning. He wakes up okay, on the right side of the bed and everything, but as he starts the rounds at work, it's as though everyone else in the world has woken up on the wrong side. Between traffic delays, pedestrians just asking to be run over, and bicyclists getting in his way, he's lost nearly 90 minutes on his delivery schedule. His boss will likely kill him, but at least, he reasons, he might not lose his job if he manages to make it through all of the deliveries at all.

He arrives at Aiba's place late and pulls into the alleyway beside the cafe with a loud blast of his horn, no longer trying not to run anyone over. He jumps out of the driver's cab and heads around back, just as Aiba emerges from the cafe, wiping his hands on his apron. "Hey, Yoko-cho," he calls over the noise of the freezer door rattling open. "What kept you?"

Yoko grits his teeth, because he doesn't want to yell at his friend, and Aiba definitely asked in the most polite way he's heard all morning, and arranges the crates of milk for the cafe closer to the edge of the truck. "Everything," he manages to grind out, pulling a hand-truck noisily onto the ground and loading it up.

"I've got something to tell you," Aiba says, following Yoko into the empty cafe.

The hand-truck rattles as it rolls over the floor, and Yoko stops it next to the espresso machine, giving Jun a curt nod as he pulls the hand-truck out from under the crates. "You'd better talk quick, I'm so late I'm surprised my boss hasn't flown in on his dragon and shot me through the heart with an arrow."

Aiba giggles a little, though Yoko's not sure he would be laughing if he met Nakai. "Look, I had a really great date on Saturday," he says, and Yoko can feel the edge on his day soften a little. "I would have messaged you earlier, but I don't know your Tokyo number. I just wanted to share my happiness."

Yoko huffs and he can't stay angry the longer he's around Aiba, and that's especially true when he has something to share. He smiles and pulls Aiba into a hug. "I"m happy for you, Ai-chi," he says, and leans in to press a kiss to Aiba's cheek.

Almost at the same time, a strangled noise comes from the doorway, and Yoko looks over to see a short man with hamburger-shaped hands covering his mouth, a face as white as a sheet, and he opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted. The man runs off, and Aiba calls after him. "I'll see you later, Yoko," he says quickly, breaking into a run and heading out after the stranger, and Yoko furrows his brow and turns to Jun.

Jun looks thoroughly unimpressed, a look slightly undermined by the cartons of milk in his hands. "That was the really great date."

———————

Ohno isn't running on all cylinders this particular Monday morning. He had woken from a late nap at 11PM on Sunday and spent the rest of the night painting a series of night skyscapes, only realising when his alarm went off at 5AM that he probably should have slept instead. He yawns, his decisions catching up with him, but it's interrupted by a very sudden Nino.

Nino bursts into the bakery, whipping the doors closed behind him so quickly that Ohno is surprised that the glass doesn't shatter. Nino flicks the lock shut and turns to Ohno, looking pale and distraught. Ohno frowns and pushes the cash register out so that he can emerge from behind the counter. "What's the matter, Nino?" he asks, putting a steadying hand on Nino's shoulder.

"I thought," Nino says, and then shakes his head. "I mean, he just - we -" Ohno presses his other hand to Nino's chest and rubs it slowly up and down, in time with his own calm breathing. It's what his mother used to do when he was anxious or scared, and it always helped. Nino gives him an odd look, but his breath does slow down, steadying.

"Start again," Ohno says, nodding encouragingly.

"I saw Aiba's friend from Osaka kissing him in the cafe," Nino says miserably, hanging his head. "I thought we'd had such a good time on Saturday. I thought he really liked me. But then he's kissing Yoko, and they probably dated before, and I feel stupid. I should have known."

Ohno sees Aiba appear at the door out of the corner of his eye, looking absolutely stricken and a little out of breath himself. Ohno shakes his head to let Aiba know that now is not the time. Aiba nods, and steps to the side, but Ohno knows he hasn't left. "I don't think you have to worry, Nino," Ohno says calmly. "Aiba and Yoko never dated. I don't think the kiss meant anything."

"How do you know?" Nino asks, head snapping back up to look at him defiantly.

Ohno wonders why Nino is so set on this all blowing up, but he puts that thought aside for the moment. "I know Yoko, too. He and Aiba were great friends in Osaka, but there was never anything between them. Yoko was dating the restaurant owner, Hina. Did you ask Aiba about Osaka at all?"

Nino frowns. "I thought I didn't want to know."

Ohno smiles. "Don't be so pessimistic. You deserve to be happy. Go find him," he says, moving to open the door.

"Are you sure?" Nino asks. Ohno looks over at him and there's already more color in his cheeks.

He nods, flicking the lock open and sliding the doors open fully. "Go on," he says, heading back behind the counter.

———————

Nino's heart has slowed to a normal rate by the time he steps outside Ohno's bakery, but it skips a beat as he turns to see Aiba leaning against the wall next to it.

"Nino," Aiba begins quickly, pushing himself off the wall as soon as he sees Nino appear. "Nino, I'm sorry, that wasn't what you thought it was, I had just told Yoko about our date and how happy I was, and he was happy for me, and he just -"

It's Nino's turn to interrupt. He takes a step closer and reaches to put his hand around the back of Aiba's head, lifting his heels off the ground and stopping Aiba with a kiss. It's not quite as graceful as the kiss in front of his apartment gate - their teeth knock and he catches Aiba's top lip in full - but it settles as soon as Aiba realizes he's not talking anymore. Nino feels Aiba's neck relax and he leans in, hand pressed once again in the small of his back, and Nino's pretty sure he could spend all day like this.

He can't, though, not really, and he pulls away after a moment. It's Aiba's turn to look a little dazed, but he grins anyway, sneaking in to catch another quick kiss before letting go and pulling back fully. Aiba catches his hand and pulls him back towards the cafe, and Nino thinks idly that he should get his heart checked for all the skipping it's doing in his chest.

"I don't want to subject you to Jun's questions when we get inside," Aiba says as they draw nearer the cafe. Nino swears he sees cunning in the smile Aiba gives him, but listens anyway. "How about you tell me where you work and I can bring you and Sho your coffees in a minute?"

Nino considers this. Just seeing Sho's face when Aiba arrives will be worth whatever Sho might say. "I hold no responsibility for Sho's actions," Nino says, and holds out his hand for Aiba's phone.

Aiba hands Nino his phone and Nino types out the address and directions once inside. "I'll see you soon," Nino says, returning the phone to Aiba.

Aiba nods, but grabs Nino's hand again as he goes so leave. "Hey, so... do you want to go to the arcade on Saturday?"

Nino grins. "Absolutely."


End file.
